Mushy about mushrooms

Mushy about mushrooms

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed

The idea of mushrooms as a food is an ancient one. However, in our country, the notion of eating mushrooms is a fairly new one. Just a couple of decades ago, edible mushrooms did not make it to the league of popular foods. Even today, they are not exactly a ‘mainstream’ food. But the mushroom's reputation is spreading steadfastly.

From a delicious and nutritious food to a useful ingredient to being a way of bringing self-employment or self-reliance, mushrooms seem so much more than just being a ‘banger chata.’

Read Star Lifestyle on Tuesday, 2 September 2014 to know about the different types of edible mushrooms, where to buy them from and at what prices.

Also on the same issue will be a bunch of mushroom recipes -- by our food columnist, Rukhsara Osman.

Method:
Place chillies in a small bowl and add boiling water to cover. Let it sit until softened, which will take about 15 minutes. Drain chillies. Purée chillies, onion, garlic, cumin, 2 cups stock, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1 tablespoon sugar in a blender until smooth, adding more broth by the tablespoonful to thin sauce as needed. It should be consistency of whole milk. Season the chilli sauce with salt, pepper, and additional 1 tablespoon sugar, if needed. Cut the sausage length wise and take the meat out.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. At this point, add the sausage meat and fry for 1 minute than add the mushrooms. Fry for another 4 minutes.

Note: You can add a finely chopped onion before adding the sausage meat if you like. It would give a slight sweetness to the meat.

Now add the chilli sauce and bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, add the lime juice and dried oregano, stir occasionally for 5 minutes. Whisk the milk and corn flour together and add to the pan. It will slightly thicken immediately. Stir it in thoroughly, and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes. Serve over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes.